Prolific singer-songwriter Skip Ewing turned his personal trauma into a signature tune for his latest album.
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Ewing is a master storyteller who has had his songs recorded by the likes of George Jones, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, and Keith Urban (just to name a few from a deep bench). Meanwhile, Ewing also made his mark as a recording artist since his 1988 debut album, The Coast of Colorado, for MCA, all the way up to 2020's Wyoming and this year's Road to California.
Recently, Skip chatted with Wide Open Country about how his horsemanship and being open to learning informs his songwriting. "If I say something that resonates with the truth about the way we as humans experience our life, even in a story, it has, it has, I think, more power," the Redlands, California native told us.
One such truth is reflected in "Wreck Of My Heart," off of Skip's latest album, Road to California.
On the surface, this is a fun, upbeat banger. I even put it on a WOC 4th of July playlist last summer. However, repeat listeners are rewarded with lyrical depth. The song uses the real-life car accident that Ewing and his wife went through as a gut-punching metaphor for heartbreak.
"We were in a head-on car collision," Skip recalled. The driver that hit him and his wife had fallen asleep at the wheel and simply drifted across the yellow line.
"After that, when I get in the car, man, I was like... it was like a psychological wall to overcome. It's just a painted line, and I don't have faith in it, you know?"
That said, Ewing knew it was inevitable that he'd need to drive on the regular again.
"You realize, yeah, I need to drive. I need to I need to travel. That's what I need to do with my life. I can't allow [the fear] to manifest anymore.
"And then the same thing happens with love," the songwriter pointed out. "You say, 'Wait a minute, I'm going to take a chance.'"
"The song itself is really just about being a mess because of a love crossing the yellow line and hitting you head-on. And I think everybody's experienced that."
How Lainey Wilson and ERNEST Found Their Way to Record a Tune Skip Ewing Had a Hand in Writing Nearly Three Decades Ago
Meanwhile, yet another chart-topping artist recently recorded a tune Ewing had a hand in crafting.
Ewing wrote "Would If I Could" with Dean Dillon nearly 30 years ago in 1996. Now, the song features Lainey Wilson and ERNEST as a duet on his latest album, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE. Interestingly, while Ernest invited Lainey to sing with him, she had also put the song on hold that same week, and it was released through Apple Music's "Lost & Found" series.
Unsurprisingly, the ever-gracious Ewing has nothing but praise for the new version of the tune, which currently has over 7 million plays on Spotify.
"I'm always honored when an artist chooses to record a song that I've written," Ewing explained. "Laney and Ernest are both kind of ambassadors for country music right now, and I like them both," he added.
"I think Lainey is fantastic, and they both sing really well. Ernest writes really well. Lainey writes really well, so for them to choose to record one of my songs... what a compliment and an honor."
Listen to Skip Ewing's latest album, Road to California, here. His new holiday track, "Whenever a Is Born," also recently dropped in time for the season.
